July 9, 2005, 10:45am

I have arrived safely at home, and I am so excited to see everyone! It is really good to be back home!

Comments [0]

July 9, 2005, 12:11am

Last stop South Sea Island. This was my favorite island! You could walk the entire island in under 5 minutes, and the beach was absolutely pristine. There was only one accomadation, and it was a backpacker place that housed 30 people. The food was absolutely amazing, and endless. I spent the day sun bathing, swimming and snorkeling with only a few other people on the island. I did one other activity provided by the island, and it was an underwater submarine to view the coral reef through the glass bottom and sides of the boat. It was so cool! I really enjoyed my stay on this island, and as I was leaving I watched the most amazing sunset. It was a perfect end to my trip!!

Comments [1]

July 9, 2005, 12:06am

Day 5 and 6 - Wana Taki Cruise - This actually turned out to be a lot nicer than I realized. The boat was really nice inside, and it had the only hot shower available to me while I was on the Islands. Everyday I went swimming,and snorkeling, and I saw some of the most amazing reefs - better than the Great Barrier in Australia. Seriously, I felt like I was in a Walt Disney film with all the brilliant colors, and interesting fish. It was so amazing - I felt like I was in another world! I also went kayaking whenever the kayaks were available!
The crew of the boat was a blast to be around! Every night we drank kava, and played card games. The only drawback was there was a group of American students ages 15 - 18 that occupied 90 percent of the boat while I was on it. Uhhhg. I did find a really nice group of people my own age to hang out with, and in the afternoon we had the small boat bring us to the beach, and we played beach volleyball. It was fun, but I suck at volleyball!

Comments [0]

July 9, 2005, 12:03am

Day 3 - I woke up this morning, and had about 20 mosquito bites. I had some bites onto of other bites -ouch! They must have found a way into the mosquito net around my bed. Tonight, I am wearing deet to bed!
I spent the morning on a cave trip. It was really cool - It was an hour boat ride, and once you arrived at the caves you had to swim underwater to get into the caverns. The site was pretty amazing!
In the afternoon I went Manta Ray Island. The island was beautiful, and the backpacker accommodations were great! After my last accommodations, I was ready for something nice! The facilities were built 9 months ago, and everything was new and clean! - No holes in the mosquito nets around the bed - Thank God!! I spent the afternoon just chilling out on the beach, and napping in the hammock.
Day 4 - SWIMMING WITH THE MANTA RAYS. So cool!!!! I spent the morning swimming with the manta rays, and it was such a neat experience. I never realized how huge they actually are compared to us. It was so fun - They would swim, and you would swim in the water above them following them where ever they went. You did have to be careful though, the current in the ocean was really strong, and you could be swept out to sea very easily, but that is why the manta's swim there - they like the current. In the afternoon, I transferred to the Wana Taki cruise. I just chilled for the rest of the day, and soaked up some sun.

Comments [0]

July 8, 2005, 11:56pm

Day 1 - I took the Awesome Adventures boat to my first destination Nanuya Lailai. It is the island where they filmed the movie 'Blue Lagoon' with Brook Shields. It was a 5 hour boat ride from the main island, and I arrived at about 3 PM. I tried to catch a few hours of sunshine before dinner, but unfortunately it started to rain. Dinner was nice though - it was a Fijian barbecue. After dinner, the hostel put on a little show. They asked for audience participation, and we all stood up, and they had us do the hokie pokie.... too funny!
Day 2 - I signed up for the early morning fishing trip, and went out hoping to catch my lunch, however, no such luck. Our group caught two fish, and they were both by the guides. We did get to share them for part of our lunch, and they were quite tasty! In the afternoon I did a beautiful hike across the island to the Blue Lagoon. It was an absolutely beautiful beach with crystal clear waters. I spent the afternoon snorkeling, swimming, and sun bathing. It was so relaxing! Now, when I have time, I have to check out the movie Blue Lagoon, and see if it looks any different.

Comments [0]

June 27, 2005, 2:09pm

I have safely arrived in Fiji. :-)

More later, but I am not sure how much access I will have to the Internet while I am on the Yasawa Islands.

Comments [1]

June 26, 2005, 7:37am

I had a really nice day today, and it is my last day here in Australia. I went with Angelica to Paddy's Markets, and I bought loads of presents to bring home for everyone. Then, we went out for lunch in Chinatown. It was interesting, because we were the only non-asian people in the restaurant. We got the feeling that they did not really want us there when they took the plates away before we were finished eating..... - literally mid bite. Later that night, I met Sarah, and we went out for dinner, and walked around town. It was a really nice relaxing end to my visit to Australia, and it felt good to end it with familiar friends that I met in my travels.
Bright and early the next morning Angelica saw me off with to the airport, and we had one last latte before I caught my airport bus. I had a really great time in Australia, but I am also ready to leave, and move onto my next adventure.

Comments [0]

June 21, 2005, 9:35pm

I was getting a ride back in a van from my farm stay in Myella (I was not the driver), and about 30 meters ahead a kangaroo popped out of nowhere, and it decided to beat the van going 80 km's an hour across the road. Everything went in slow motion....... Hop, hop, brake, brake, hop, splat, f##ccckkkkkkk! Poor thing did not stand a chance. It was about 4 feet tall, and it died instantly. I had to fight back tears. It was so sad, because I swear I was able to look the kangaroo in the eye the instant before we hit it. After, the driver went back to make sure it was dead, and that it did not have a Joey in it's pouch. Sometimes, when you hit a Mom the baby survives in the pouch, and it needs to be taken care of till it is older. They already had one Joey running around the Myella farm, and they called it Rhubarb - I hand fed it it's bottle. At any rate, I am sure it is the equivalent to hitting a deer - very sad, but there is nothing that you can do about it. :-(

Well, it finally happened - I got sick. I have been sick for about 2 weeks, and surprisingly, instead of going away it just got worse. So, I finally gave in, and went to the doctor. I am not covered here so I was worried about the cost, but it was not to bad. I walked to the medical center, and they got me in within 20 minutes, and my doctor's consultation was $57aud, and they prescribed a double dose of Amoxicillian, and it was only $28 aud. I have been on the medicine for a day now, and I already feel better. I am in Byron Bay now, and I am staying at a place called the Arts Factory. It is an old hippie commune, and it is so totally funky and cool that I absolutely love it here!!!!

Comments [3]

June 21, 2005, 9:34pm

Day 3 - It was raining today, but that did not stop us. We set out to see Lake Wabbi, and the huge sand dunes that surround it. I am not sure what got into me that day, but we were all trying to figure out how to get down the sand dune, and I just dropped and rolled down the hill. When I got to the bottom everyone was staring at me like I was a crazy person. What can I say? It looked like fun - and it was! Needless to say, I was the only one to experience it. Oh well, they don't know what they missed.

It was a fun trip, but it was really cold at night, and I froze!! I did not have a mat for my sleeping bag, and I did not bring enough warm clothes. Also, being put in a group of 11 strangers, and being forced to make group decisions is both frustrating and interesting all at the same time.

Comments [0]

June 21, 2005, 9:31pm

Day 2 - We went to Indian Head, and from the look out you can see all the sharks in the ocean. You absolutely can NOT swim in the ocean while you are on the island, or you will be eaten by a shark. It is a breeding ground. Then, we went to the Champagne Pools, and Eli Creek. Then, back to camp - we had perfect weather that day!
That night, I went for a walk on the beach with a friend, and we were chased by wild dingos. We escaped by screaming at them and waving sticks - I think the noise scared them off. We did the exact opposite of what they tell you to do.... Actually, I just stood there frozen, and watched in horror. I seriously could not move. It was really scary!

Comments [0]